Silence
by Kathryn C. Gray
Summary: Or Three Times Alec Lightwood Stayed Silent and One Time He Didn't. One-shot.


Three Times Alec Lightwood Stayed Silent and One Time He Didn't

* * *

Alec loves the quiet atmosphere. There is nothing he likes more than the blissful silence as he reads, savoring every page. The only sound that could be heard was the crackling of the fireplace.

_Snap._

Alec looks up from his book and sees Jace cracking his knuckles. Alec glares at him, of course. Jace simply shrugs and slumps back on the couch.

_Tap, tap, tap._

Alec looks up, once again. Jace is tapping his foot against the wooden flooring. Alec sighs, loud enough for Jace to hear. He takes a quick glance; the blonde is staring right at him, a playful smirk across his face. Alec rolls his eyes and resumes his reading, trying his best not to smile.

_Thud._

Alec attempts to ignore the noise.

_Thud. Thud._

"Quit that," Alec says, not looking up from his book.

"I'm bored." Jace throws the books to the floor, one at a time. He looks at the covers, tilts his head, frowns, and then sends the book flying. "And you're not even looking at me."

Alec reluctantly looks up from his book. "Look for something to entertain yourself, Jace. This is my reading time," He says as-a-matter-of-factly. Jace sighs and sits down on the carpet, a few inches away from Alec. Trying to get his attention, Jace nudges Alec with his foot.

"What do you want?" Alec says, adding a scoff at the end.

"Can't I spend some quality time with my boyfriend nowadays?"

"We spend every passing hour of the day together, Jace. Now lay off, I want to read in peace."

"You don't mean that," Jace says, smiling and grabbing Alec's wrist, pulling him up. "Now come on, let's go."

Alec bends the corner of the page he was reading and sets the book aside. He gets up and lets Jace lead the way. Secretly, he's slightly annoyed that he couldn't get to continue reading, but he stays silent because he loves the way Jace looks at him and smirks. As if all of this was a big secret.

* * *

Alec wakes up to the sound of music blaring from downstairs. Groaning, he rubs his eyes and fumbles the floor for his shirt. Putting it on, he walks downstairs in a half-dead state. He can tell that the music is coming from the kitchen, so he walks inside. At first, Alec thinks he's still sleeping, so he rubs his eyes once again. He's not. Isabelle, Clary and Jace are in there, baking. Clary is swaying her hips while she pours the contents of one bowl into another. Isabelle is sitting on the counter, singing while Jace plays the air guitar.

"What are you lot even doing?" Alec asks, clearly confused. Isabelle ignores him and continues singing. Jace is too busy banging his head, so Clary is the one to answer.

"We're juggling chainsaws, Alec. What does it look like we're doing? We're just baking cookies." Clary laughs and continues doing whatever she was doing before Alec walked in

"I see."

Isabelle hops down from the counter and dances around Alec. She kicks his behind when he refuses to dance with her. Isabelle calls him names, but Alec just ignores her and pours himself orange juice instead.

"He's just bitter because we're not playing sophisticated music," Isabelle says.

"You bet I am. Also, I'm mad because you didn't invite me to your cookie baking fest, sister. I'm hurt. Really." Alec rolls his eyes at her.

"If you wanted to join, you could've just said so," Clary says, smiling a little.

"He's being sarcastic, Clary," Jace says, trying not to laugh.

"Alec needs to get laid!" Isabelle says, in that annoying singsong voice that she knows Alec hates.

"Don't worry, Iz. He gets plenty of that," Jace says, with a smirk on his face. Alec can't help but glance sideways at Clary. Her expression is grim. Alec hates these awkward moments between Clary and Jace, especially because he can't help but think that sometimes it's his fault. He stays silent because he doesn't want to fuel the fire. That, and Jace just assaulted him with whip cream.

* * *

"Jace, go away. Alec needs rest. Shoo!" Isabelle is blocking the entrance to Alec's room. Alec tries to get up, but his chest hurts too much. He has a huge gash in the middle of his torso, courtesy of a certain demon he crossed paths with earlier. Alec was doing Jace's errands (because 1) Alec hates leaving things undone and 2) Jace bribed him) when he ran into the creature. Alec managed to kill it, but not before the demon struck him.

"Isabelle, move. I have the right to see my boyfriend, don't I?" Jace looks annoyed, but Isabelle won't bulge.

"It's fine, let him in," Alec says.

"I hope you realize this is your fault." Isabelle steps aside and Jace rushes past her, straight to Alec's bed. He kneels besides him, grabbing his hand.

"How is this _my_ fault?" Jace asks, looking up at Isabelle and frowning.

"If you hadn't told Alec to do your chores, he wouldn't have run into that demon."

"Iz, quit it. It's not his fault," Alec says.

"But of course, you defend him. Alec, you're whipped. W-H-I-P-P-E-D. It's his fault, just admit it." Isabelle leaves the room, shaking her head. Jace stands up, closes the door, and then lies in bed with Alec.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't. It's not your fault," Alec says, ruffling Jace's blond hair a little. Alec knows it's Jace's fault, but he stays silent because he doesn't want Jace to blame himself. Also, because he just wants to fall asleep with Jace by his side.

* * *

It's about eleven when the power goes out; there's a blackout in the city.

"C'mon, let's turn on the generator," Jace says, grabbing Alec by the wrist and dragging him downstairs. Alec hates being dragged around, but he's never said anything. Tonight, he is in a bad mood, so he yanks his hand away.

"Something wrong?" Jace asks.

"Yes."

"Well?"

"Stop dragging me around, Jace. I'm not your ragdoll," Alec regrets saying it as soon as he sees the look on Jace's face. He looks confused and, well, hurt. Both of them look at each other for about five minutes, not saying a word. Jace is the one to break the silence.

"Why didn't you say so?" Jace's voice is just a whisper.

"I never say anything. I'm the suffer-in-silence type."

"There's no need to suffer in silence, or whatever. You can tell me anything and you know that, Alec Lightwood."

"Yeah, well-"

"No excuses," Jace says, grabbing the front of Alec's shirt and pulling him into a kiss. Alec pulls back for a second, pressing his forehead against Jace's.

"Weren't we supposed to turn on the generator?" Alec says, smiling a little.

"Fuck it. Let them stay pitch black for a while. Shadowhunters love the dark, after all."

* * *

**Here you go.**

**Sorry for any grammar mistakes. x **


End file.
